Poaching making inroads in new areas of State: Assam, INDIA

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Poaching making inroads in new areas of State

By Prabal Kr Das

GUWAHATI, Aug 13 – Illegal trade in wildlife could be making

inroads in new areas of the State with some miscreants devising

innovative methods to procure and sale animal organs, some of which

belong to endangered species like the one-horned rhino and the

Asiatic elephant. Well-placed sources told The Assam Tribune that

the authorities are yet to be aware of the magnitude of the problem,

because intelligence and updated data on wildlife trade is still not

readily available. Recoveries from traders and poachers mean

poaching has continued in the biodiversity rich areas.

 

Recently, West Bengal Police arrested Ratiram Sharma, a 65-year-old,

with four leopard skins, 10 kilograms of tiger bones, and 16

kilograms of rhino skin from Joygaon close to Bhutan border. Sharma

revealed that he had supplied at least 10 tiger skins, more than 500

musk pods and large quantities of rhino skins to different buyers in

the recent past, informed the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).

 

Sharma confessed that he had been carrying out his trade for a long

time, and he used attractive women to transport various animal

organs. His wife, and one of his accomplices, Maya Devi admitted

carrying wildlife articles on his behalf for several years. And even

though a previous case was pending against her in Kaziranga, she was

working unhindered.

 

Some conservationists are deeply worried that many of Sharma's

consignments were sourced from Asom and parts of the Northeast. Till

now, however, miscreants at the field level in Asom, who could be

part of the illegal nexus, have not been apprehended.

 

A source in Nagaon said that, at there is a group of poachers and

traders that has been responsible for killing schedule-one wildlife.

Some of those with political connections have been responsible for

the slaughter of wildlife inside protected areas.

 

Often traders involved in the procurement and sale of wildlife

organs have recruited local people, who are acquainted with the

terrain so that consignments could be sent through routes with

minimum police presence. Such a modus operandi ensures that traders

remain unexposed in the picture.

 

It has also been learnt that new trade routes have been established,

which include one to Nepal and another to Bhutan. Illegal

consignments through these areas are now heading for markets in Hong

Kong, mainland China, and some parts of South East Asia.

 

Organisations like the WTI are of the belief that the intelligence

on illegal trade on wildlife should be acquired through an

interstate mechanism that coalesces and interprets information, and

alerts forest and police personnel without crucial loss of time.

 

There is also a growing demand that a network facilitating seamless

flow of information among various stakeholders at the national and

international level needs to be constructed. The architecture of the

system should enable local authorities to get information on the

seizure of any commodity sourced from their place.

 

According to a well-placed source in the Assam Forest Department,

better co-ordination between the police and forest personnel was

another prime requisite if those involved in wildlife trade were to

be booked